grindle



Dec. 18, 1923. 1,477,824

A. J. GRINDLE POWDERED MATERIAL FIRING APPARATUS Filed Feb- 4, 1922 3 Sheets- Sheet 1 Dec. 18, 1923. 1,477,824

I A. J.'GRINDLE POWDERED MATERIAL FIRING APPARATUS Filed Fe 4, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 2' lib... "7/

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Dec. 18,1923. 1,477,824

A. J. GRINDLE POWDERED MATERIAL FIRING APPARATUS Filed Feb- 4. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented it, 192? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUBREY J. GBINDLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE TO GRINIDLE FUEL EQUIP- MENT COMPANY, OF HARVEY, ILLENQIS, A CGRFEOBATION OF ILLINOIS.

P6WDEREIDJEATERIAL-FIRII TG APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUBREY J. GRINDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Powdered-Materiali' irin Apparatus, of which the following is a spe ification.

"l invention relates to mecl'ianism for controlling the feed of powdered :luel torial, such as powdered coal, that it will burn e'liiciently in the apparatus in which it is to be consumed.

The object of the invention is to provide an accurately controlled means for regulatin; the supply of fuel material deliverable to the burning apparatus for regulating the a count of air delivered to the burning apparatus and for adjusting the respective supplies of air and fuel material to each other.

The invention consists in th mechanism for attaining" the foregoing objects which is especially adapted, because t its accuracy of adjustment, to the burning of powdered coal in furnaces or other burning apparatus. It further consists in many other fea tures and details oi construction which will be hereafter fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals designate the same parts through out the several views Figure l is a vertical end view of mechanism illustrating this invention .in its pretel-red fprin;

Figure 2 is a plan view oi the anism;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail view through the center of the coal feeding apparatus;

l igure la vertical end view, certain parts being shown in section, on the line =l4-. of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the regulilting appara i. removed from the other parts of the device; and

Figure 6 is a tace view of the adjusting mechanism centered at shaft 3i.

Figure l shows-diagrammatically a "fun nace 10 having leading into it a pipe 12, through which a mixture of fuel to be consumed and air is L ropelled by the mechanism of this invention, :t'T the purpose of burning same mccl i 1922. Serial No. 534,241.

the same in the furnace by methods not entering into this invention. This pipe 12 is connected at it to the upper or discharge end of the main air pipe 16 of the machine of: this invention, which pipe is supplied with air by a blower 18 of conventional form driven through belt mechanism 20 by any suitable source oi power such as an electrh: motor 22. in pipe 16 and supported on base 24, is an air control valve mechincluding a rotatable valve 28,

' on shalt 30, the same being the sub- ;Lter of my earlier patent application, Yo. 314,136, patented June 5, 1923, c, ',521. By properly rotating this valve member 28, the amount of air delivered by the fan to pipe 16 and thence to pipe 12 is controlled. The outer end of shaft carries a lever arm '32 on which is reoiprocatably mounted the cross head 3% selectively adjustable as to position along the lever by any suitabl means, such as set screw 36. Pivotally mounted on this cross head is a horizontally extending lever arm pre'ierably, but not necessarily, made extensible by being made in two pieces adjustably securable together by the bolts 40 of conventional form slidably mounted in elongated slots 42 in each of the slidable parts of this lever. livotally mounted at the end of the outer section of this lever l0 at i lis th upper end of a bell crank arm is pivoted at l8 on a stationary support conveniently mounted on the machine. The second arm 52 of the bell crank, of which arm 46 is a member, is pivot-ally connected at ill to a bracket 56 carried on a lever 58 piv- (lied to i stationary support at (30 and adapted to be selectively controlled by adjusting weights 62 and G l: slidable alongthe rod. Tlhis lever 58 is automatically moved up and down by the action of a diaphragm regulator 66 of conventional commercial construction, whose upper end 68 carries a piston. rod 70 attached to the lever 58 at 72. This diaphragm regulator is connected up, by mechanism such as ir pipes 73 and 75 not entering into this invention, to suitable automatic or manual control apparatus. lVhen the diaphragm regulator 68 moves the lever 58 upward'or in a counter-clockwise direction about pivot 50, it rocks bell crank to move lever 32 and consequently 32 with reference its top in a fuel. material hopper 81.

valve 28 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5, and the parts move in the opposite direction when the lever 58 moves downwardly.

The end of valve mechanism provided with a graduated scale t engaged by a pointer 76 on shaft 30 to indicate to the operator the position of the val.

The adjustment which is obtained by shifting the length of rod 38 through the action of bolts 410 may be accomplished by loosening the set screw T8 on shaft 30 and thus shitting the angular position oi": lever to shaft 30. This angular djustment is necessary in order to properly position the initial opening of the valve 28. By loosening the nut 36 and moving the cross head 3e along lever 32, the amount of opening of the valve in proportion to the arc of movement oi the bell crank h"i52 varied, thereby controlling the amount of air delivered with a given movement of lever 58.

The main frame 21- ot the machine sustains an enclosed casing 80. terminating at The bottom of this casi' 80 .is provided with a horizontally exte. ding iassageway 82 leading through port 842: into the pipe 16. Extending horizontally across pipe 16 and through this passage 82 is a horizontally disposed rotatable shaft 86 carrying rigidly attached thereto a disk 88 and a feed screw 90. Fuel material delivered from hopper 81 to this screw .90 is, when the screw is rotated, moved to the leftas viewed in Figure 3, against the disk 88 which breaks up any particles of powdered material. which tend to hang together and delivers them through the narrow passage 92 between this disk 88 and the adjacent portion of the wall. of pipe 1.6, all otwhich is more fully shown, described and claimed in my previously filed application, above identified.

Shaft 86 is pressed to the right against wheel 11d, hereafter described, by a spring mechanism 94- adjustably controlled by a screw cap 96 on a tubular mcn'iber 98 attached to a fixed stud 100 on the side of pipe 16 by any suitable means, as for instance the screws 102.

Special attention is called to the construc tion ot the right hand end 01 the screw 90, which, as shown, is recessed at 10 i imme diately adjacent to the shaft 86 and the closing head 106 in which it is j oin'naled so that there is an annular ridge 108 formed on the end of this shaft, but clear of the l ead 106, the result of this construction being that powdered material. from the hopper 81, descending into the space 10%, is, when it gets down to the extreme bottom space 110, be

low the screw, taken up by the screw threads and transferred with the screw to the left over into passage 16, thus doing away with point, which experience has demonstrated takes place when this construction is not used;

At the outer right hand end of shailit 86 is a friction drive disk 112 of conventional form, on whose :tace trs. els a conventional friction wheel 11% carried on transverse shaft 116 through the agency-o1 a spline 118 which enables this wheel to reciprocate lengthwise oi the shaft, but compels it to rotate with the shaiit. This shaft 116 is driven by any suitable means, such as a belt- 120 from the tan shaft 122.

The wheel 114 is embraced by arms 123 sliding on shaft 116 and rigidly mounted on a rod 12% connected at 126 with an arm 128.01 a hell crank whose opposite arm 130 is actiilated by rod 182 attached to the lever 58 heretofore fully described. This bell crank is supported by bracket 133. The result of the construction justdescribed is that when the regulator mechanism (56 moves lever 58 upwardly rod 12 1 and consequently wheel 11 1 is moved to the right, as viewed in Figure 5, thus moving the wheel 11 1 to the outer circiui'il'crence of disk 112, thereby slowing up the speed of the screw and consequently reducing the amount of fuel fed from hopper 81 through passage 92 into pipe 16, the opposite result obviously occurring when lever 58 moves downwardly or in a clockwise direction as viewed .in Figure 5.

Rod 124 preferably but not necessarily carries an indicating pointer 128 adapted to travel along an indicating scale 130 suitably graduated by calibration or otherwise so that the operator can, by looking at this scale,

determine in the first instance the position of wheel 1141 on disk 112, but more practically the amount of coal which is being fed up and down, as heating conditions taken 7 care of by the apparatus require, thuschanging the amount of coal and consequent amount of air delivered into pipe 16 for the proper operation of the apparatus. It is entirely obvious that the one movement of. the single member 58 controls the air and coal in unison,

It is understood from the adjustment previously described that the operator adjusts the lever mechanism 3238 to control the point of opening of valve 28 and the proportion of air delivered to the amount of coal delivered, as qualityor condition of coal may require.

lVh-at I claim is:

1. In mechanism of the class described, a :tuel conduit, a conveyor for delivering pulverized fuel within the conduit, a V2t11 able speed driving device for the conveyor including a slidably adjustable element for I efiecting variations in the rate of speed of the conveyor, means for forcing a current of air through said conduit, a rotary valve adjustable on an axis parallel to the direction of sliding movement of said element to regulate the amount of air passing through said conduit. and a common means for simultaneously effecting adjusting movement of the element and valve in either direction.

2. In mechanism of the class described, a "fuel conduit, a conveyor "for delivering pulverized fuel Within the conduit, a variable speed driving device for the conveyor including a slidably adjustable element for effecting variations in the rate of speed of the conveyor, means for forcing a current of air through said conduit, a rotary valve adj ustable on an axis parallel to the direction of slidin movement of said element to regulate the amount of air passing through said conduit, an operating lever moving in a plane transverse the direction of movement of said element and the axis of the valve, and connections between said element and valve and said lever whereby movements of the lever will effect simultaneous movements of adjustment of the element and valve.

In meclninism of the class described, a :l'uei conduit, a conveyor for delivering pulverized. 'l uel within the conduit, a variable speed driving device for the conveyor including a slidably adjustable element "for etl'ecting variations in the rate of speed of the conveyor, means for forcing a current of air through said conduit, a rotary valve ad jnstable on an axis parallel to the direction of sliding movement of said element to regulate the amount of air passing through said conduit, said valve including a radial operating handle, a pivoted operating lever, connections between said lever and said element, and connections between said lever and handle including members connected together tor lengthwise adjustment, one of said members having adjustable connection with the radial handle of the valve.

in Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

AlIlRREY J. GRTNDLE. 

